Project Endgame
by TheChicaChic
Summary: CJ has a stalker who enjoys sending her little presents.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Project Endgame  
Chapter 1  
Author: Jenn  
E-Mail: jenniferbillig...  
Fandom: The West Wing  
Characters (In this chapter): CJ, Josh, Carol with mentions of Leo,  
Abbey, Donna, Toby and the Press.  
Rating (This chapter): PG-13  
Spoilers: Up through the season two season première.  
Disclaimer: I really don't own the characters, nor will I ever.  
They've already got homes. :)  
Author's Note: This is my little brain child that keeps nagging and  
nagging at my mind. I posted this awhile ago, but in that time,  
it's been beta-read. Thanks to Rachel for beta-reading this and  
offering her opinions. :) Written in March 2004.

- - - - - - - - - -

She was late. The morning had started off bad; sleeping through her  
alarm and missing the chance to go to the gym to the ringing of her  
cell phone asking her where she was. It was just bad karma to miss  
the 7:30 staff meeting because you were still visiting dream land.

Turning her head to the right to glance at the clock on a  
nightstand, CJ sighed as the numbers changed from 7:59 to 8:00.  
Almost three extra hours of sleep and she still felt sluggish.  
Closing her eyes for a moment, she tried to will the stiffness in  
her muscles to exit her body, though even that seemed to ignore her  
wishes.

Pushing the sheets and blanket from her pajama clad body, CJ  
sat up and swung her feet to the floor. Rosslyn was seven months in  
the past and she still had nightmares about the incident and  
following days; making sleep seem a novelty.

Standing, she crossed the cream carpet floor barefoot,  
stepping onto the cold tile of the bathroom floor before even  
looking up. Her reflection stared back in the mirror and she  
wondered yet again how she was going to look professional enough to  
brief the nation through out the day. Her fair skin was a shade  
darker then translucent, and her eyes were chiseled into her face  
with permanent black smudges around them. The few stray locks of  
auburn hair added to the tell tale signs, on her face, of too many  
sleepless nights. Reaching into the shower, she turned on the  
knobs, shedding her clothes before stepping into the steaming water.

- - - - - - - - -

Juggling a briefcase and car keys in one hand, a large cup  
of coffee and loose briefing papers in the other, CJ moved through  
the halls of the West Wing towards her office. Her goal was to make  
it to her office and set everything down while getting briefed by  
Carol before anyone else noticed she was in. Hopefully she could  
make it thirty minutes before Toby or Josh crashed her office  
checking on her.

Crossing the threshold into her office, she dropped the  
briefcase and car keys onto the couch, grabbing the papers and  
dropping them on top of the leather bag. Sipping the coffee, she set  
it down next to Gail's fish tank before shrugging out of the long,  
navy trench coat she wore; foregoing neatness to toss it over a  
guest chair. Brushing a loose bang from her face, she quickly looked  
through the stack of pink message slips on her desk. Miss two hours  
of work and you were behind for the next eight days.

Glancing to the center of her desk, she stopped short at the  
large bouquet of Prince William roses inside a porcelain-like blue  
and white vase. Smiling, she picked up the vase and starred at it,  
wondering who they were from. It wasn't often that someone sent her  
flowers. Running her hand up the vase, she started to look for a  
card, only to feel something sharp cut at her palm. Leaning back,  
she gasped at a pain that cut through her left hand and watched as  
the vase crashed to the floor. Jumping, she struggled to hold in the  
scream that rushed through her throat. Crimson blood slowly dripped  
from the five inch cut than ran across the palm of her hand and  
along the underside of her ring finger; while a matching crimson  
flowed from the remains of shattered vase and seeped into the tan  
carpet of her office and across the bottom of CJ's own tan pants and  
flat shoes.

Glancing up at the door, she met Carol's eyes, heard the  
gasp escape from her assistant before glancing back down at the  
growing mess.

"CJ are you alright?" Carol asked, finally coming to her  
senses and rushing into the room.

"I…I think so." She answered, stepping back from the mess.  
Pressing her injured hand against the baby blue blouse she wore, she  
momentarily forgot about the blood oozing from the cut in her hand.

"CJ?"

Turning her attention back to the door, she caught sight of  
Josh starring at her, concern filling his eyes.

"I'm okay." She said, forcing her mind into briefing mode.

Pulling her eyes from him, she looked back down at the mess  
and noticed a small white envelope. Carefully bending forward, she  
picked it up with the thumb and pointer finger of her right hand.  
Sliding the card out, she looked at the carefully scripted  
handwriting on the stark white card.

I've started the game Claudia. A game which I am the  
opponent, the arbitrator and the creator. There is no use hiding  
from me darling, I am watching. I can not be fooled by your tricks  
or your masks. I am watching all 64 Claudia, and I've moved my first  
pawn darling. Think before moving yours.'

"CJ, what is it?" Josh asked, moving to where she stood in  
the middle of the office.

With a shaking hand, she handed him the note and watched as  
he read it.

Josh read the note quickly, a frown settling over his  
features as the meaning of the note filtered into his mind. Quickly  
looking at CJ again, his eyes narrowed at the hand she was cradling  
against her stomach before taking in the rest of her. Blood covered  
her shoes and spread up the pant legs; stopping about halfway to her  
knees. He also noted the blood spreading across the front of her  
blazer and wondered if it was blood from the vase or something else.

Something else, he decided, as he watched her lift the hand  
and brush her hair back from her face leaving a trail of crimson  
liquid across her cheek and hair. Grabbing her arm, he pulled it  
towards him, turning the palm up and wincing at the deep cut.  
Looking about the office, he saw her scarf sitting on the chair next  
to them and grabbed it, wrapping it tightly about her hand.

"Carol" he said, turning to look at the assistant still  
standing in the doorway still. "Call Ron Butterfield, have him come  
down here at once. Then I want you to call the first lady and have  
her meet us at the women's locker room."

Carol nodded, hurrying off to do what she had been asked.

Josh turned back to CJ, fighting back the memories of  
Rosslyn in his mind. Now wasn't the time to have an attack.

"Do you have a change of clothes here?" He asked her softly  
as he tried to wipe the blood off her face.

"I have a gym bag in the closet."

Only managing to smear the blood more, he nodded, letting go  
of her arm. Walking to the closet, he pulled it open and found a  
black duffel bag on the floor. Grabbing it, he crossed the room  
again and took her arm.

"Come on, we're going to go get you cleaned up."

"I need to see Leo first. He's already pissed that I missed  
the staff meeting. His exact words were to be in his office by 9 so  
he can prep me for my briefing and it's after 9."

Looking around her office, she tried to find a clock but she  
couldn't focus on one. "I know it's after 9."

Sliding the bag onto his shoulder, he wrapped an arm around  
her waist and carefully pulled her against his side. Placing his  
lips against the side of her head, he kissed her hair.

"We need to get you cleaned up. Leo can wait."

"I have to brief the press." She said, sagging against him.

"The press can wait, Leo can wait, everyone can wait; right  
now we need to take you down to the locker room and get you cleaned  
up and let Mrs. Bartlet take a look at your hand."

- - - - - - - - -

An hour and a half later, CJ and Josh were on their way to  
the briefing room. Carol and Donna had managed to get CJ showered  
and changed. Josh had packed the clothes she had been wearing into a  
plastic bag and sent them to Ron while they were attending to her.  
The first lady had arrived at the same time as Leo, and Josh had  
explained to both what had happened. Leo had left the locker room to  
see what Ron had found in CJ's office and Abbey had waited.

It had taken 64 stitches to close the wound in CJ's hand.  
Abbey was worried about nerve damage because of how deep the cut was  
and at the possible diseases that had been in the blood. She tried  
to get CJ to go to the hospital; but she had refused. Instead of  
fighting with the independent woman, Abbey had relented on the  
grounds that CJ would let her check it at least once a day and allow  
for blood to be taken for tests.

Leo had met them in his office, a worried look on his face.  
He had tried to get CJ to go home, let the others handle everything  
for a day, but she had held her ground. He'd then tried to get her  
to agree to a secret service detail, but CJ had laughed at the  
thought.

"It was a practical joke Leo, that's all. Nothing to get  
worried about."

Leo had relented, knowing it was no use to fight with her,  
but had shared a silent plea with Josh to not leave her alone.  
Calling out to Margaret, Leo had her give the notes to CJ and sent  
them all on their way.

Stopping at the door to the briefing room, CJ drew a breath.  
She could still salvage the day as long as she kept her cool in the  
press room. It was going to be hard, she knew that; but she also  
knew what kind of questions to expect. There was going to be talk  
about what had happened in her office.

The White House grapevine would have had the new spread  
before the vase had hit the floor. And given that she was about to  
give the briefing in sneakers, black running pants with one of  
Josh's extra dress shirts tied at the waist and buttoned up half way  
over her black tank top with no make-up on and her hair pulled in  
the tight pony tail Donna had insisted on; along with the fact that  
her left hand was nothing more then a large pile of white cotton at  
the moment, there was going to be rumors flying everywhere.

But she could handle the press corps better then anyone else  
in the West Wing. And that thought gave her the strength she needed  
to do the briefing. There would be time later to process what had  
happened; and knowing her fellow staff members, she'd be talking  
about it a lot.

Giving Josh a smile, she nodded at Carol to open the door.  
Squaring her shoulders, she stepped into the room and strode up to  
the podium, smiling out at the people in the room.

"Good morning. Sorry about the lateness of the briefing, I  
know the networks need to update their stations, so I'll keep this  
as short and sweet as I can.


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Project Endgame (2/?)  
Author: Jenn  
E-Mail: jenniferbillig...  
Rating: R  
Fandom: The West Wing  
Characters (In This Chapters): Just the stalker with mentions of CJ  
Spoilers: None unless you're inside my mind.  
Disclaimer: I can say I own the stalker. 0 I don't own CJ  
though. 0(  
Author's note: This part may be a slightly more twisted then the  
first part, so I caution those reading it. Thanks to Exfilina for  
her comments on the story and for Athena for telling me it may be  
cruel for posting a teaser chapter but not morally wrong.

- - - - - - - - - -

Crimson red drops trail to the floor, gathering in a puddle. Drip,  
drip, drip; they sound of your heart, echoing in the temple where we  
become one in.

You lie across a gray stone alter, the white sheath clinging  
to your porcelain skin. I can see the outline of your perfect body;  
the curves my lips ache to trace.

Thin lines cris-cross your arms and end at your wrists,  
slowly bleeding the pain from my soul.

I'm praying; you're dying my chestnut haired Snow White,  
bathed in the firey glow of your eternal light.

You are my salvation, my lost dreams.

Your wounds are crying for deliverance to our Christ.

I slide my fingers across your cold skin; I smear the  
crimson river along your arms; up over the top of your chest.

I taste the sickly sweet nectar of your blood as my lips  
trail your arms.

Your heart beat so faintly underneath my lips, your breast a  
fleshy melon in my mouth.

I've waited so long; wanted you, watched you, dreamed of you.

But you're here with me now.

The sheer white sheath slides from your body as my mouth  
roams, as my hands caresses; worshipping the temple of my goddess.

I was lost for so long but now I'm saved.

You're awake my angel; I hear the cries and moans of ecstasy.

Forget the pain my darling; ignore the squeezing pain of  
death as the means of your life is drained.

Feel the pleasure I bring you, enjoy the final minutes of  
this mortal life for soon you'll be eternal.

Already you taste of the sweetest nectar, oh my sweet  
Claudia; your juices are my life force…

… The memories of the dream are still fresh; the voices are  
still talking to me, reminding me of how you will be mine. And you  
will Claudia Jean; that I can promise.


End file.
